Another update…

This is all you get, since I’m tired and I want to go off to bed.  But first, a movie.

Today’s high is going to be 37 degrees and the silver lining is the week being halfway over.

To those of you who are looking forward to the weekend, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

Muse:  I got a lot of wrapping done today.  Just a few more gifts!

;_; Or is it?

Keep on hoping in his timing. He is faithful…

That’s pretty much the plan for today. Time to head on over…

God can deliver.  I need to be still and be patient!

All I can do is wait.  Wait patiently and pray.  I pray he shows up…

Almost there!  Just a couple more days…

Out of the forests, tree farms, home improvement stores or closets and into your house.  We have an evergreen conifer to decorate.

Or do you?  If not, you will soon.  And if you’re not the kind that keeps a Christmas tree in your house, chances are you know someone who does.  Or they know someone.

With just 24 days left until Christmas, the race has begun.  Deck those halls.  Deck the outside of your house.  Deck the lawn.  Deck the kitchen.  And whatever you do, don’t forget to deck the tree.

And while there’s plenty of shopping to do (we’ll get to that another day), we’ll focus on the tree for today.  For me, getting the tree has been a tradition that goes all the way back to my childhood.  And even before that, the tradition of decorating trees has been around for hundreds of years.  Ever since the pagan Europeans practiced tree worship long ago.  But having survived the conversion to Christianity, the trees were then used to scare away the devil.

Getting back to my tradition, I have always enjoyed getting a tree as a kid.  For a number of years, I can remember going to Beards Lakeview Farm with my brother, younger sister and parents.  We would get out and begin searching for the perfect tree.

The search would pretty much go like this.  One of us would find what we think to be the perfect tree, until a flaw is pointed out in it.  A spot may be bare, or it might be too small or too tall.  This would continue on and on for several trees.

And finally, by some miraculous event, we come across the perfect tree. At that point, the tree is ready to be cut down, right?  Wrong.  It’s picture time.  Stand in front of the tree in the freezing cold and get your picture taken, so that grandma and grandpa could see the tree that you got this year.  At the age that I was at back then, it didn’t matter.  There was snow everywhere and I was standing in front of the tree that would go in our living room.  I loved it.

For the first few years, mom and dad dragged the tree to the needle shaker and wrapper.  But when me and my brother were old enough, dad made us drag the tree all the way back to get de-needled and wrapped up in twine ropes for the truck.  As the years went by, it got easier and easier to do.

Looking at this year, I have yet to get a tree.  In fact, we’re getting one today.  But due to Beards Lakeview Farms ending their Christmas Tree business five years ago, we have decided to go to the same Christmas Tree farm as last year.  Kluck Nursery.  It’s little bit of a drive but it will definitely be worth it. It should be great, as I was very satisfied from last year.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

And if you’ve been following the 12 Pains of Christmas, I’ll be getting the first thing done today.

As for the other eleven, they will all come in due time.  Well actually nine, since I don’t drink or have any children to worry about.

Muse:  Got your tree?

Not yet.  I will be today.  And I actually want to end this…

Muse:  Well, before you do, I have some good news.  I found the perfect Christmas tree!

Nice.  Your tree looks just like ours do in the real world.

Muse:  I know.  Christmas has gotten really popular among me and the Intangibles.

So did you cut it down?

Muse:  Of course I did!  And it’s all decorated too.

Well, that was fast!  I still need to get a tree and decorate it!

Muse:  Well, being Intangible does have its advantages.  Plus, I want to get some reading done.  Now you can end it.  Farewell!

*sigh*  Intangibles always get the best trees.  Well, I guess that makes sense since they’re all imaginary.

The high today is going to be 36 degrees and the silver lining is getting a Christmas tree.

To all of you who love the tradition of keeping a Christmas tree in your house,  I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

Muse:  The star on this tree is so beautiful.  To be perfectly honest, I could stare at this for hours…

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? If not, now is the time.

Now quick! Go to your preferred websites and order everything on your list before you get that dreaded 404 error.

For anyone who took part in Black Friday, it continues. What, you ask? Well, only THE biggest holiday for online retailers everywhere: Cyber Monday.

For those who hate the Black Friday crowds, today is your day.  All you need to do is relax. You don’t have to go anywhere and all the best sales are just a click away. And the only downside is a server failure.

While there are so many deals to take advantage of today, I am not doing anything of the sort. I don’t need another large credit card bill to pay off so I am going to pass on this day for this year.

For anyone else who wants the deals, now is the time.   Stop reading this, type your favorite online store in the address bar and start shopping!

Muse:  I’m almost done with my shopping.

What would you need to shop for?

Muse:  What kind of question is that?  Hylians need things just as much as anyone else!

I’ll get to that later.

Muse:  Okay.  So far, I’ve got a lot of my shopping done.

Good.  I now need to get ready.

Today’s high is going to be 34 degrees and the silver lining is being able to unwind this evening.

To those of you who love shopping online, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

Muse:  I feel so accomplished! I already have more than half my shopping done! Christmas is going to be so easy this year!

That’s the plan for today.  Here we go!

And no milestone?  A first, I know.

Maybe eventually, I hope…

If you are currently reading this, then you’re already late for the sales.  The sales that many hope to get on Black Friday.

And fortunately, I can say that I’m not one of them.  I am not a Black Friday shopper.  Never have, and never will be.

Muse:  Neither am I.  I don’t know how some people can even bother to stand in those long lines.  It’s crazy if you ask me.

Twin Muse:  Then call me crazy, twinnie!  I’m hitting all the sales!

You’re hitting them?  Well, I still think it’s crazy.  What are you two still doing up?

Muse:  There were so many dishes from Thanksgiving that it took me forever to get them done.  Even with her helping!  How did it go?

Twin Muse:  Yeah!  Was there a lot of food?  If it’s really good, then I might just help myself to some.  Just sayin’…

It went fine.  All of the dishes that I named were made.  Dessert followed about a couple hours later.

Muse:  I had about the same here.  With so many to feed, it took a while to go through the table.  Anyway,  I need to finish cleaning.  I’ll see you in the morning, when the company leaves!

Twin Muse:  I’m not going to bed.  I’m hitting all the stores!

What more can I say about Black Friday?  Only this.  It’s a retail holiday that I never want to associate with.  The lines are too long, despite the deals that are promised.  I’m looking forward to Cyber Monday, a day that I prefer much more than a holiday dedicated to the die-hard shopper.

Instead of Black Friday shopping, I will be enjoying my Friday off, since my Christmas list is already done for this year.

Today’s high is going to be 37 degrees and the silver lining will be enjoying this Black Friday off.

For those of you who love cashing in on the deals on Black Friday, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

Muse:  There.  The dishes are done.  I can finally go off to bed!

Twin Muse:  You can thank me.  I finished the last dish.  They’re all dried and put away.  It’s Black Friday time!  OH YEAH!  I’ll be back later, twinnie!  I’ll definitely be tired later from shopping all night so I’ll probably take a short nap.  Got my doorbuster coupons and now I’m off!

It is finally here.  The day of feasts and floats.  The day of family, friends and to some, football.  One of the least commercialized holidays of them all.  Well, almost.  With many businesses trying to extend Black Friday by another day, the tradition of Thanksgiving is at stake.

But for everyone else (and that goes for most of us) it is the day that we go to our aunt’s and uncle’s house, or grandparent’s. On the flipside, it can be a house taken over by relatives.  But wherever you spend it, the takeover is that of love, with the warmth of family filling every corner of the house.

For me, it will be a little different this year.  I will be going to grandmas.  The expected party will include four families. My family, my sister and brother-in-law, Harper, and my grandma. A hungry party of 8.

And the spread would be something that you would expect your typical Thanksgiving Feast to be.  Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry-orange relish, garlic stuffed olives, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

Thanksgiving is also the time for us to be thankful for the things that we have.  Despite how much or how little we have, we all possess the greatest gift of all.  The gift of life.  And that is something to be thankful for.

Muse:  Indeed it is!

So how is your Thanksgiving so far?

Muse:  It’s going good so far.  I can’t talk for long.  I just got up.  I’m getting the turkey out and thawing it.  My sis is helping with all the food prep.

You’re having a Thanksgiving feast for Intangibles?  Won’t this come off to them as weird?

Muse:  They’re perfectly fine with my decision to adopt a few of your Tangible rules.  And this isn’t the first Thanksgiving dinner that I made for them.

Well, it seems like you’re busy with all of your guests.  I’ll let you take care of them.  I’ll let you know how it goes with my company later, okay?

Muse:  Yes.  Now I need to get the coffee going, and the turkey thawed.  And the TV turned on so I can catch the parade.

Oh!  One more thing.  What are you thankful for?

Muse:  I’m thankful that you are here with us…I’m also thankful for all the food that I get to eat today.  We’ll talk later, alright? Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

Muse:  Oh!  I hear them!  I’m coming!  Who was I talking to?  Just Kyle, the one that I told you about.  Oh.  You want to see him?  Kyle, my sis just wants to say hi.

Twin Muse:  Hi Kyle!  Me and my twinnie are working really hard on the Thanksgiving dinner.  It’s going to be AWESOME!  Gotta get back to the kitchen!  See you around!

Like her, I’m also thankful for that delicious food.  And I almost forgot to mention that the stuffing is made with grandma’s special recipe.  A recipe that my mom has perfected over the years.  For instance, the original recipe used too much salt, so she had to adjust it.

And I also forgot about the desserts.  There will be a couple that my grandma will be bringing over, believe me.

Today’s high is going to be 47 degrees and the silver lining will be eating the delicious Thanksgiving feast.

To all of you who are going to be feasting with your family and friends, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.

Muse:  Turkey?  Check.  Coffee maker turned on?  Check.  TV turned on?  Check.  Time to get Thanksgiving started, everyone!

Twin Muse:  Um, sis?  You might want to make some more coffee!  I kind of…drank the last half potful!

Muse:  I’ll make some more.  Oh, and the bathroom is that way.

Twin Muse:  Like I’m not going to make it!  Stop it!

*Twin Muse gives her sister a shove*

Muse (laughing):  I’m just saying!  It’s happened a few times!

Twin Muse (blushing):  It doesn’t mean you need to bring it up!  Um…Oh no!

Muse:  Told ya!  Hurry to the bathroom.  I’ll clean everything up…

Twin Muse:  Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!

*Twin Muse closes bathroom door behind her*

*Muse cleans up wet trail and quietly sighs*

Muse:  She never grew out of it.  Poor sis…But she’s my twin sister.  I still love her…

I’m thankful for God, and my family.  Good night everyone!

With God’s grace, I’ll make it through this.  With God’s help, I’ll persevere.  Time for another movie…

I am not.  Very thankful for his grace…

Trusting in him.  He will provide…

Dry bones can come to life.  Whatever God wills in my life, he will surely fulfill it…

And the state continues.  Going to remain faithful and wait on his grace…